Launching a scathing attack on senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda over his statement on the Ram Mandir, Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Wednesday said that Lord Ram was only an "imaginary character" for people like him,
As the country is preparing for the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Sam Pitroda asked, "Is Ram Mandir the real issue or unemployment and inflation?"
"I have no problem with any religion. It is okay to go visit the temple once in a while, but you can't make that the main platform. 40 per cent of the people vote for BJP, and 60 per cent of the people do not vote for BJP. He is everybody's Prime Minister and not a party's Prime Minister and that's the message the people of India want him to have," Mr Pitroda told ANI
Talk about employment, talk about inflation, talk about science and technology and challenges. They (people) have to decide what are the real issues - is Ram Mandir the real issue, or unemployment is a real issue? Is Ram Mandir the real issue or Inflation is a real issue?" he asked.
"Practice your religion but keep religion separate from politics," Mr Pitroda, who is also the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, emphasised.
Reacting to this, Ms Lekhi told ANI, "These are the people for whom Lord Ram was only an imaginary character. All I can say is that people like Sam Pitroda are disconnected from this country and the ethos and values of this country. If they were connected, they would have known what Ramayan taught us, they would have understood the concept of Ram Rajya."
"They would also understand how invaders destroyed the Ram Temple. They tried to attack the Hindu value system. The value of the civilisation of this country and the resilience that Hindus have showcased for so many centuries - he would have understood," she added.
When asked about the Congress's Bharat Nyay Yatra, the Union Minister said that if the Congress had done some nyay (justice) to the people when they were in government, then the yatra would not have been needed.
Hitting out at the party, Ms Lekhi said, "All I can say is that, if when they were in government they had done some nyay to the people, then the Nyay Yatra would not have been needed. The fact is that these are the people in whose regime country suffered the biggest injustice. Their work would have spoken for itself. These are perpetrators of injustice who are running Nyay Yatra."
The Congress on Wednesday announced it will hold a 'Bharat Nyay Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi from Manipur to Mumbai, covering 14 states and 85 districts, beginning January 14.
The yatra will conclude on March 20, around the time when the schedule for the next Lok Sabha polls is likely to be announced.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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